Ministry in the Postmodern World: What is Postmodernism?

A postmodern perspective is skeptical of any grounded theoretical perspectives. It rejects the certainties of modernism and approaches art, science, literature and philosophy with a pessimistic, disillusioned outlook. – Amy Orr-Ewing.    

For the next several days, we will take a sabbatical from our study of The Gospel of Matthew. Instead, the focus will be on the doctrine of objective truth and postmodernism’s attack upon objective truth; God’s truth.

We live in a world in which objective truth is under attack. Any overall, objective truth claim made by anyone faces ridicule because of the presumption that there is no objective truth applicable to all. In other words, there is no meta-narrative, except the contradictory claim that there is no meta-narrative. For in saying there is no meta-narrative, those who say this are in effect making an objective, meta-narrative truth claim. Think about it!

Modernism’s recent attack against truth began in the 17^th – 19^th centuries. During the 20^th century, Modernism beset the evangelical, Protestant church. Modernism taught that only science could explain reality. Modernism’s basic presupposition was that nothing supernatural was real. See J. Gresham Machen’s, Christianity and Liberalism.

Since the beginning of the 21^st century, Postmodernism has eclipsed Modernism as the dominant, secular worldview. Postmodernists reject Modernism’s trust in science and the gateway to truth. Postmodernism says that it is impossible to be certain of any absolute, objective, or universal truth.

The postmodernist view of truth is rotted in subjectivity. All truth claims are to be founded upon the perspectives within the human individual. Human feelings reign supreme. Postmodernism states that objectivity of anything and anyone must be discarded because ultimately it oppresses groups, females, ethnics, third-world peoples and ethics. A postmodern worldview states that the universe is in a state of continual flux and change.

Postmodernism is opposed to any authority: theoretically, historically and existentially. The irony is that postmodern philosophers, educators, or politicians reject all authority except their own. They consistently seek to postulate and propagate their own authority as absolute, objective and universal.

“To the postmodernist, reality is whatever the individual imagines it to be. This means that what is ‘true’ is determined subjectively as a social construct and it is therefore subject to change,” explains Dr. John MacArthur. “According to the postmodern way of thinking, there can be no such thing as objective, authoritative truth that governs or applies to all humanity universally.”

“With every passing day, and in seemingly greater frequency, the world is not only ambivalent to the truth, but it hates the truth. The very concept of truth elicits severe mockery in favor of lies and half-truths that claim, “I will decide what my truth is!” This type of subtle deception stems directly from a shrewd serpent who began twisting the truth in the very beginning when he asked Eve, “Did God actually say. . ?” (Gen. 3:1),” explains Dr. Dustin W. Benge, associate professor of biblical spirituality and historical theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

How are you encountering the postmodern worldview?

Soli deo Gloria!